


Crystal Venom and Elevators

by SimplyEssa



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Claustrophobic Keith, Cold Cuddling, Courtesy of Lance and Keith, Crystal Venom, Cuddles, Drowning, Exhausted Keith (Voltron), First Kiss, Fluff, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Is a jerk, Lots of fluff at the end, Low Key Pining Keith (Voltron), Low Key Pining Lance (Voltron), Low key Claustrophobic Lance, M/M, Mild Angst, Panic Attacks, Pidge is a little gremlin, Rated T for swearing, The Elevator - Freeform, This isn't even episode six, Why isn't that a tag?, but - Freeform, fluff & humor, honestly i need to sleep whatami doinf, i don't know how else to tag this without spoiling it, i have no idea when this is set, i kiterally get four hours of sleep a night i shouldn't be doing thus, klangst, mostly Lance POV, oh well, rated t for cussing, sometime after they found shiro?, yea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 11:48:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11668530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyEssa/pseuds/SimplyEssa
Summary: Why can't they have one normal elevator ride?What does it have against them?





	Crystal Venom and Elevators

**Author's Note:**

> lmfao you guys are going to hate me for this  
> just so you know, the crystal venom is in this, but it's sometime after season three, after they found shiro AND matt because i can bitches  
> an originally short fic turned into a near 5k fic  
> oops my bad  
> enjoy

Lance slowly sidestepped closer to the wall of the elevator- farther away from Keith.

It was clear Keith was in a bad mood- his eyebrows were furrowed, a tight frown pulling at his lips as he stared at the floor, and man, he did not want to be on the bad side of that today.

He mimicked Keith's position, crossing his arms, and leaning against the back wall. He tapped his foot, waiting for the elevator to stop and for them to reach their level so they could just get out of here and away from each other and Keith's bad mood-

A dull thud sounded to his right.

Lance blinked, looking up from where his eyes were glued to the floor, turning his head to the right.

Keith was laying down on the floor, eyes closed, with his arms bent in front of him. One knee was curled up to his waist, while the other lay outstretched on the cool floor of the elevator.

What the hell?

"Keith?" He asked, pushing off the wall and walking to the collapsed boy.

Keith didn't respond.

"Keith?!" Panic began to settle in.

He knelt by the shorted boy, pressing two fingers just below his jawline. He was met with a steady pulse, maybe a bit erratic, but there none the less. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. 

"Alright, Lance," He muttered to himself. "He's probably just sleeping, there's probably nothing wrong-"

The elevator made a sudden jerk, making Lance topple over and fall onto Keith. A metallic screech filled the car, just as the lights flickered out, no emergency lights to replace them. 

"Lance?" Keith groaned, trying to push Lance off of his waist. "Get off, asshole."

Lance rolled his eyes, but pushed himself off of Keith, landing on his knees with a thump. He could get a vague outline of Keith's body, but his eyes weren't adjusted enough to _actually_ see Keith.

"What... What's going on? Why is i-it so dark?" Keith asked, sitting up. 

"I don't know, the elevator just broke," Lance drew his legs up to his chest, resting his chin on his knees.

"A-again," Keith replied dryly, a small stutter to his words. Now able to see almost clearly, he noticed Keith copying his position, but resting his forehead on his knees, shaking slightly. 

"Keith? What's up?" He asked, poking his leg.

"Nothing," Keith mumbled, wrapping his arms around his legs.

"Keeeeith," Lance drawled out, poking his arms. "Keeeeeiith."

"What."

"What's wrong?" 

"Nothing."

"Keith, seriously, what's wrong?" Lance asked, crossing his legs with a much gentler tone.

Keith inhaled shakily. "Please just- fuck off, please. Nothing's wrong."

Lance raised an eyebrow, but made no further comment. 

They stayed like that for a long time (Lance wasn't sure how long, there were no clocks in the elevator. He guessed around twenty minutes), Keith curled into a ball in the corner, noticeably trembling and breathing fast and shallow, while Lance mimicked his position a few feet away, trying not to think about how the walls were slowly closing in on them-

A dull red light lit up in the corner, flashing once, twice, then stopping altogether. 

Panic seized Lance.

Keith looked up at that point, eyes  clearly wet, even in the darkness.

"O-okay, now that you're less freaked out, we should probably get out of here," Lance said, ignoring the way his voice shook as he stood up, offering a hand to Keith.

Keith took it gingerly, nodding his head ever so slightly.

"Same way as last time?"

Keith nodded.

Lance bent down on one knee, clasping his hands together to make a foothold for Keith.

Keith stepped on it, and Lance ignored his screaming muscles when he stood up, Keith in his arms.

Keith's hands were gripping Lance's shoulders, a lot tighter than last time, and he seemed hesitant to let go when he moved his hands to the top hatch.

"Lance?"

Lance grunted in response, watching Keith eye the hatch- his hands were ready to push it up, God Keith, just do it already- cautiously.

"I think it's wet."

"What-?"

The hatch fell inwards, a surge of water going in after it.

It managed to hit Lance in the head, making him stumble, promptly dropping Keith in the process.

His back hit the ground with a loud slam, elcting a groan from Keith.

"You good?" Lance asked, shaking his head to remove the dizziness.

"Good," he grunted, standing up slowly. When he put pressure on his left leg, he fell back over, this time on his stomach. "Fuck-"

Lance helped him up, taking the weight off of his left side. "Okay. Okay, this is fine," Lance mumbled to himself, leaning Keith against the wall, panting. He knelt down, again, gingerly lifting Keith's left foot. He inhaled sharply, bracing himself against the wall, but didn't pull away. "Water's pouring in through the roof, the elevator isn't working, we don't have a way to contact Allura, and we can't get out because you can't actually stand, you had a mini panic attack-"

"W-what? No, I-"

"It's fine, I had one too, and your ankle is twisted or something. I'm not even sure how, you landed on your back, but whatever," Lance wasn't sure if he repeated some things. Either way, he didn't care. "Just keep weight off of it, and try to stay above the water. Can you breathe?" Lance straightened up, ignoring the water that had reached the top of his foot. Keith glared at him. "I mean- Uh, let me rephrase that- I meant if you knew how to breathe- wait, no-"

"I know how to swim," Keith answered, obviously getting the point. 

"Okay, go-"

"Sort of."

"That- No, Keith, that's not how a sentence works," He shook his head in exasperation, turning around to the control panel. The water was increasing fast. Where were they to be getting water? "What do you mean, 'Sort of'?"

"I- um, never really learned. I never stuck around long enough to learn. I know the basics- like, kick your feet. But I doubt that helps, and I can't kick my feet right now," Keith explained, running the back of his neck.

"You never stuck around where?" Lance couldn't help it if he were prying- he didn't know a lot about the guy. He seemed to be pretty open, so why not ask?

"I... um. Foster system," Keith said quietly.

"Oh," Lance breathed. "Do you mind if I ask what happened..?"

"Yes," Keith said sharply, ducking his head.

"Sorry man," Lance said, directing his focus back on the panel. Maybe he could find a way to contact Allura?

While Lance worked, they kept a tense quiet, probably because of the earlier questions. During that time, the water had risen to his knees. "Hey, Keith, how high is the water for you?" Smirk evident in his voice.

"About a few inches up my knee, why?" Confusion laced his voice.

"Oh. I thought it was up to your neck."

"My- I'm an inch shorter than you!" Keith spluttered. 

Lance swore he could feel the scowl burning his back. "You keep telling yourself that, bud."

Keith huffed.

Lance continued working on the panel, trying to ignore the way the water was reaching his thighs. "How you holding up?"

"My ankle feels like it's being ripped off."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Dunno why," Keith shrugged.

"How did you even hurt it? Didn't you land on your bac- Ow- Fuck!" A spark hit his finger. Lance pulled it away, starting to suck on it. "Fuck."

Suddenly, Keith was by his side, hiding his wince. "What happened?"

"A spark," Lance decided that was enough words.

"Oh, um. Okay," Keith breathed deeply, then lightly shoved Lance out of the way. "Here. I'll try."

"You can't stand-"

"What am I doing right now, Lance-?" Keith  put weight on his left leg, prompting him to yelp and topple.

Luckily, Lance caught him, concern and worry mixed together on his face. "Falling, dumbass."

"Shut it," Keith growled, steadying himself on the wall. "Just keep me from falling, if you're worried," Keith said calmly, hearling Lance tap his foot.

Taking another calming breath, he divided his attention on the panel. Nothing looked wrong with it,, except maybe the fact that it was spitting electricity-

" _Oxygen Levels: 2.8%_ ," A robotic voice announced.

"The fuck did you do?!"

"I didn't even touch it!" Keith snapped, backing away from the console. "Fucking-"

The water had reached Keith's waist. How did it get so high?!

"Fuck, okay. We're trying the hatch thing again. It's better than drowning in here," Lance sighed, kneeling on the floor, once again. He clasped his hands together to create a makeshift foothold for Keith.

"I- are you sure?"

Lance gave him a look that said ' _Do you really wanna fuck with me right now.'_

"Fine," Keith sighed, putting his right foot in his hands. "Okay. Go."

Lance stood up slower than before, careful not to jostle Keith's injured ankle.

"Can you move a little to your left?"

Lance nodded, then realized Keith couldn't see it. "Yeah, yeah, sure," Lance stepped to the left. 

"More," Keith grabbed his shoulder to steady himself.

Lance took another step to his left-

Groaning, Lance pushed himself off of the floor and out of the water. "That," he huffed out, scrubbing water from his face and grabbing large mouthfuls of air, "Was a mistake."

He got no response.

"Hey, Keith?"

A gasp sounded from behind him, along with a pained cry, that sounded an awful lot like his name. 

Lance spun on his heel- well, as much as he could in water- spotting Keith trying to stand, only to fail and land on his ass, head covered by the water. 

"Shit- Keith!" Lance ran the very short distance between them, grabbed Keith's arm, and pulled him to his feet. Keith inhaled sharply, falling into Lance's side. Lance draped his arm over his shoulders, wrapping an arm around Keith's waist while he grabbed the wrist around his shoulders. "Fuck."

"Fuck," Keith agreed, sagging against him. "I landed on my foot," Keith explained, shifting a bit in his grip.

"That's gotta suck," Lance said, not knowing what else to say. "So, that didn't work-"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Keith deadpanned.

"What do we do now? We can't just wait for the water to fill up. It's already at our chests-"

"I fucking noticed."

"and you're bent over a little bit."

"Wow, thanks for point-"

"Keith, I know you're grumpy because of your ankle and shit, but you've gotta work with me here," Lance sighed, shifting them closer to the door. He side eyed the panel, which was still spitting electricity. "Oh shit-"

"What?" Keith followed his line of sight, realization hitting him when he saw the electricity. "Shit," he hissed.

"Okay, okay, no big deal, this is not a big fucking deal," Lance forced himself to take deep breaths. "We've just gotta... um..." his eyes trailed around the elevator, looking for some way out. "Pry the doors open! Maybe we're at a floor?"

"We could try it," Keith halfheartedly agreed, trying his best to take his weight without collapsing when Lance let go.

"Okay, on the count of three," Lance said, grabbing Keith's knife.

"Hey!"

"Grab the door when it opens, and pull. Got it?"

Keith nodded, getting his hands in place. 

"One," Lance shoved the knife in. "Two," He turned it. The doors started to move. A bit of water leaked out. "Thr-" Lance coughed, the knife falling from his grasp. He faintly heard Keith coughing too, stumbling a little bit, but couldn't focus straight. 

" _Oxygen Levels Depleted_ ," The robotic voice said again. " _Filling_ _chamber with Synopile_."

"The fuck-?" Keith brokenoff with a harsh cough and a yelp, falling onto the wall.

"Altean-" Lance gasped, trying to help Keith, who was trying not to slide in the water. "Altean air-"

Static burst from the corner of the room, startling both Keith and Lance.

"Lance, Keith! The elevator is being affected from the crystal venom Sendak used! There isn't oxygen in there anymore- it's Altean air! It's poisonous to Hum..." The static had disappeared enough for them to understand it, at least, until the end. "Trying to...ng on!"

The water had reached their shoulders now (and this was not how Lance wanted to see water again, but whatever). For Keith, who was slowly sliding down the wall, unable to hold himself up with a (probably) broken ankle and no oxygen, was at his neck, slowly increasing. 

_I can't kick my feet right now._

Those words finally made sense.

Lance realized that if it got over their heads, Keith wouldn't be able to swim up, because of his ankle. 

"K..Ke-Keith," Lance gasped, slowly walking through the water. He had an idea. A stupid one? Maybe. A smart one? Maybe.

Lance wasn't sure.

Keith looked at him, mouth shut tight and trying not to breathe the air. Pain was etched across his features, and his ankle, from what Lance could see, was bruised and swelling. 

"Sho-Shoulders," Lance gasped again, then bent underwater, hoping Keith got the idea. 

He did.

He heard Keith give a pained cry as he moved to sit on Lance's shoulders. Given how small he looked, Lance would've thought he weighed less. Keith was surprisingly heavy, but not the unbearable kind. He would be able to hold Keith for a little while. Once he was sure Keith was settled, he stood up, involuntarily gasping for air as he got out of the water. He immediately shut his mouth closed, feeling the burning pressure on his lungs.

"Lance," Keith spoke above him. "It's oxygen again. It's fine."

"O-oh thank God," he gasped, taking in large gulps of air. The water was at his neck now. That was not a good sign.

"I appreciate you helping me, but now we both can't swim," Keith pointed out, hands fidgeting on Lance's wet hood. 

"I'm thinking," Lance grumbled.

"Yeah. So was I," Keith pointed to the hatch. "Get me there. I'll pull myself up, then I can pull you up. Got it?"

"That's where the waters coming in, dumbass. Your hands'll slip and we'll be back at square one," Lance said, irritated, as he turned towards the door. 

"Then put me down. I'll swim."

"You can't swim, you have a broken ankle and you don't know how!"

Keith rotated his ankle, hissing in pain. "Sprained," he grit out. 

"Fine, whatever. My point still stands."

"If you don't put me down, I'll make you put me down, and I've got a feeling you won't like how I do it," hands tightening on Lance's hood.

"Putting down now," Lance spoke quickly, lowering himself for Keith to get off.

When he got off, Lance grabbed Keith around his chest and started to swim upwards.

"Wh-What are y-you doing?!" Keith squeaked, kicking his good leg. 

"Helping you swim. When the water gets high enough, we can just get out of the hatch then-"

The elevator suddenly lurched, causing Lance to let go of Keith, who hit the wall with a groan. Lance hit the floor.

Before he could get up and help Keith, the elevator suddenly stopped, sending them flying into eachother, which made no sense, because that shouldn't work in water.

Maybe Altean water was different than Earth water.

He subtly noticed that Keith (and himself) were shivering, but his main attention was the fact that here was nothing but metal above the hatch. The water had stopped flowing in- they must've reached the top of the shaft. To make things even better, there were no more spaces of air. Peeking a quick glance at Keith, Lance saw that he had trouble keeping his eyes open, but he had come to the same realization that Lance had.

They were both nearly out of oxygen, they were stuck in an elevator that wasn't working, and there were no more places to receive air. 

Unless they counted eachother, which Lance wouldn't do, because Keith would probably kill him if-

Keith's lips were on his, one hand on Lance's jaw to force his mouth open, the other on his shoulder to keep him at the same level as Lance. Before Lance could actually form coherent thoughts other than; _Keith is kissing me_ and _holy shit what,_ his mouth was forced open, and air was entering his lungs.

Which could only mean one thing.

Keith had just given him the oxygen he had left-

Fuck-

Lance furiously shook his head after Keith let go. He would not let Keith die- nope, not happening-

He saw Keith struggle as he tried to breathe, but quickly clamped his own hands over his mouth and nose. Lance helped him with that: Having no oxygen was better than having water to breathe. 

Keith's eyes were starting to flutter closed, but it was clear he was trying to keep them open.

They needed a way out, and they needed a way out _fast_.

_Okay, okay, what can I do we need a way out or Keith's going to die because he got rid of his air-_

Lance's eyes landed on the knife on the ground. He could pry open the doors! They were at the top of the shaft- surely there was some floor up here.

He gave a quick thumbs up to Keith, who's hands were slowly going limp over his mouth and nose, then swam to the knife, and stuck it in the doors crack. He twisted it sideways, opening it enough for some of the water to drain out. He put his fingers on the edge of the doors, then pulled. 

He hoped they were like elevators back home- once opened enough, they'd fully open-

And Lance was sucked out of the elevator, along with the water and Keith. 

The water pushed him around for a little bit, not giving him a chance to actually stop and _breathe_.

After a few more seconds, it had slowed to a stop.

Lance gasped harshly, shakily pushing himself to hands and knees as he coughed and pulled air into his lungs. He distantly heard footsteps and shouts, probably the others.

"...ce! Lance, are you okay?"

Ignoring Pidge's question, instead scrabbling to his feet and scanning the room for Keith. He spotted him a few feet away, hacking up water and trembling as he swayed in the crawl position.

 He rushed to Keith's side, kneeling (for the millionth time that day) beside him, and rubbing his back in, what he hoped, was a soothing manner. 

"That's it, Keith," he said, quietly enough that no one else heard. Which is surprising, considering Lance and Keith had almost died. Lance figured they'd be swarming them. "Get it out."

Keith took in another shuddering breath, before sagging against Lance once more. 

"Keith, I'm gonna bring you to a pod, okay? You're ankle-" Hunk had rested his hand on Keith's bicep.

Keith shook his head vehemently, trying to curl into a small ball as he flinched away from Hunk. "No- no! No pods, please, don't make me go in one-"

"Okay, no pods. No pods," Lance said, rubbing his back. He shot Hunk a pleading look.

"Are you guys okay? Other than the foot thing, 'course," Pidge asked, somewhere beside him. 

"We're good," Lance answered for them, taking notice of Keith's shallow breaths. "We'll be down in a few minutes. No elevator this time," he gave Hunk and Pidge his signature finger gun and wink. Pidge rolled her eyes and left, Hunk left a bit cautiously than her, but patted him on the back and left nonetheless.

"Are _you_ good?" Lance poked Keith's cheek.

"C-cold," Lance could feel him shivering in his arms.

"I can feel that," Lance snorted. "C'mon. We'll get ya changed then some crutches or something  for your ankle."

"Y-yeah. Okay," Keith stood up with Lance's help. Lance draped an arm over his shoulders and grabbed his wrist, wrapped his arm around Keith's waist, and helped him out of the room. 

* * *

 Lance was not expecting the knock on his door while he was getting changed.

What was even less expected, was Keith leaning on the wall outside of his door with a pale face and shivering form.

"Wha- Keith, where's your jacket?!" Lance gently grazed Keith's exposed forearm- "You're freezing!"

"I- I do-don't k-know," Keith answered, crossing his arms and shoving his hands in his armpits.

"My God," Lance grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside the room, grabbing a blanket from the bed and throwing it at him. Keith caught it out of pure reflex, a confused look on his face. "Use it dumbass," Lance disappeared into the closet Allura had showed him, looking for the giant, warm, fuzzy (and blue, God, he'd always wanted to see Keith in blue), sweater he'd found the other day.

"L-lance?"

"Getting a sweater for you," Lance called, not hearing the way Keith's voice shook.

"La-Lance."

Lance's hands stopped where they were searching. "What is it?" His eyes landed on the sweater as he left the closet. He snatched it from the shelf and came into Keith's line of sight.

Another thing he wasn't expecting.

Except this one he wouldn't expect ever.

"Oh m- Hey- hey, it's okay- Keith, what's wrong?" Lance rushed to Keith's side, who was sitting on the bed, back against the wall and his one knee pulled to his chest. The other one lay sprawled out in front of him, tear spots marking his clothed thigh. 

Keith sobbed softly in response, hand tightening in the sheets as he tried to bury his head further into his knee.

"Buddy, hey," Lance rubbed his thigh in a soothing motion, the only available spot that would be the most casual place to rub. "I want t-to help. Can you let me help?"

Keith froze, as if he didn't register that Lance was beside him. "I- I'm f-fine," Keith sniffled, bringing his head from his knees and rubbing his eyes.

"It's okay to cry," Lance said softly, rubbing circles into his thigh.

"I'm _fi-fine_ ," Keith insisted, dropping his hands from his face. Despite having cried a few minutes ago, Keith wasn't one of those ugly criers where they get all splotchy with any running down their nose- No, no fucking way- Instead, Keith remained the wya he looked, except hotter, because his eyes sparkled, his bottom lip trembled, and his skin shined from the light reflecting off of his tears.

His mama had always warned him about pretty girls and older women, people like that. But she had never warned him about _Keith_ , and God, this boy was going to be the death of him.

Shaking his head, he put his attention back on Keith, who was trying to hide his tears by dropping his face onto his knee again.

"Keith?" Lance said slowly; cautiously. "Can you tell me what's wrong? I want to help," he asked,, with all the sincerity he could muster.

"Nobody e-ever wants t-to he-help," Keith said, in between sobs.

"Then those people can burn in hell. They're stupid," Lance snarled, voice filled with venom. "Keith, let me help. Please."

Taking a shuddering breath, Keith lifted his head to face Lance. "T-the jacket," Keith wiped his cheeks, "It- it wa-was my m-moms."

"Oh," Lance breathed. And he couldn't find it. No wonder he was so upset.

"S-she put i-it on me o-one day," Keith explained, hugging himself. Lance grabbed the blanket that had fallen to the floor and put it on Keith, sitting in front of him in favour of beside. He smiled a little, but it quickly fell. "a-and told me t-to take g-good care o-of it, it w-was her fav-favourite."

Lance patted his thigh, then took of his own jacket and handed it to Keith. "I... I know what that's like," Lance mumbled.

Keith took it, playing with the sleeve as it lay in his lap. "Thanks," Keith said quietly, then continued his story. Lance crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap. "A-anyways, she was just- just going for a jog. I-it was just a jog- she should've came back-" Keith broke off with a barely contained sob, a hand moving to cover his mouth while he squeezed his eyes shut.

Not knowing what else to do, he pulled Keith into a hug, rubbing circles into his back.

Lance knew he didn't like physical contact- there would be three outcomes to this.

One: Keith would scream at him, probably punch him, and leave, despite the broken ankle, then when they'd come out Keith would hate him forever.

Two: Keith would push him away: Simple as that.

Three: He'd accept it.

The third outcome would definitely-

Keith quickly relaxed in Lance's grip, dropping his head onto the crook of Lance's neck and wrapping his arms around Lance's lower back.

It was a bit of an awkward angle, considering Keith's leg was spread out beside them, and his other one was on Lance, a safe distance away from being able to knee him in his 'reserved for ladies (or men)' spot.

"I.. I w-was four," Keith said quietly. Lance ignored the small wet spot growing on his shirt.

"It's okay," Lance murmured, burying his nose in Keith's ( _Oh holy shit that's soft_ ) mullet. It had a citrusy smell to it. "You're okay, crying is fine, let it all out, I'm right here, we'll find your jacket, everything's okay," Lance continued to whisper reassurances until he could feel Keith's breathing even out. "Are you okay?"

Keith nodded, but didn't let go of Lance. "It-It's still freezing," he muttered, moving his bare arms in between their chests.

"Jacket," Lance said, then shifted so he could reach the discarded jacket behind Keith.

He lifted his head from his shoulder, a confused look on his face. "What?"

Lance wrapped the jacket around Keith, moving his arms so they'd go through the sleeves.

"O-oh. Thanks. Again," Lance didn't need lights to see Keith's blush.

"What's this?!" Lance gasped, grabbing the sweater that had been left on the floor, not going off the bed. He slipped it over his head, a grin claiming his face. "Is the great Keith Kogane blushing?!"

"I- wha- no-" Keith spluttered, more blush rising to his cheeks. Lance grinned even wider. Keith dragged his hands down his face. "Fuck it," he muttered quietly.

"Wha-?"

For the second time that day, Keith's mouth met his, but this time, it wasn't for air.

Keith likes him.

Lance likes him.

Win-win situation.

Now, when Lance tells this story, he'll say that he kissed back almost immediately.

But the truth?

It took Keith starting to pull back for him to start kissing back.

Lance grabbed Keith's waist and the back of his neck, pulling him closer as both of their eyes fluttered closed. Keith's hands cupped his face, and God, Keith had warm hands.

It should be illegal.

The second they parted for air, Lance let go. "Do not take that the wrong way, I still like you and I want to keep doing that, but we're both freezing and Hunk figured out how to make hot chocolate a while back and then there's your ankle-"

Keith nodded. "I went to see Coran about the ankle while you were changing. They don't have crutches, but he did have some cream that I'm supposed to put on it every four hours for the next day," Keith pulled up his pants, which showed a slightly less swelled ankle covered in an Altean version of gauze. "There were hover chairs, but I didn't want to take my chances with any more electronics."

"Then I'll help you there," Lance said with a wink, got up, and bent down. "Get on my back."

"W-what?"

"Do you want to be carried like a princess?"

He took the silence as a no.

"Then get on."

With minimal amount of grumbling, and pained cussing, Keith settled on Lance's back, head resting on his shoulder.

Lance shifted him a little higher, made a horse noise, and bolted off.

He ignored the protests about his speed coming from Keith.

* * *

If you had told Lance a week ago that he'd be sitting on the couch, Keith asleep on his lap and a blanket wrapped around them both, he'd call you batshit crazy then leave a blushing mess.

But after everything that happened today?

He'd believe it without a doubt.

In fact, that was happening right now.

As soon as they got the hot chocolates, Lance brought them to the common room, put Keith on the couch, then sat down beside him, hot chocolates on the table.

Keith crawled onto his lap, complaining about the lack of body heat, put his ankle on the arm rest, and rested his head on Lance's shoulder.

He fell asleep soon after.

Keith looked so... so... peaceful, when he slept.

Every muscle was relaxed, and his face had the smallest smile. His hand was holding Lance's, while the other had a limp hold of Lance's shirt.

It was cute.

Shiro had come in minutes after, took in the two boys sitting on the couch, then sighed with a fond smile. He grabbed one of the blankets from the closet and wrapped it around them both.

"You know," Shiro said, leaning on the backrest. "I'm practically Keith's brother..."

Lance blanched.

"I would do the normal talk, but I know what you're like. You wouldn't do that," with that, he ruffled his hair and left the room.

Lance felt his face heat up, despite the coldness that was slowly disappearing in his body, especially now that there was a blanket big enough to be wrapped around both of them.

Just as Lance got comfortable enough to doze off-

A quiet click sounded from behind them, along with a bunch of snickering from a little green gremlin.

"Pidge!" He whisper-shouted.

"I'm adding this to Hunk's scrapbook!"

_Oh no._

 

**Author's Note:**

> unbetad.  
> for the electricity, the water didn't get affected by it.   
> here's what happens after:  
> keith wakes up  
> they go to donner because they slept for a while.  
> pidge and hunk show off their neeest sketchbook  
> (puctures of keith and lance kissing and sleeping and piggyback ridding are in it)  
> keith and lance are holding hands under the table  
> keith blushes and explodes right there  
> (i'm kidding about that last part lmao)  
> hope you enjoyed, feedback is greatly appreciated!


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